You’ve probably heard that they’re having a little problem up in Vancouver in preparation for the Winter Olympics.
They’re missing a crucial ingredient. No, not Michele Kwan.
Snow.
Here is a story about the problem. But it’s not that surprising. Canada likes to think of itself as the land of tough guy winters. But when it comes to the Olympics, this isn’t the first time they’ve had issues producing enough winter.
Us Olympic old-timers remember that in Calgary in 1988 that there was more excitement than just the “Battle of the Carmens” (Debi Thomas and Katerina Witt). There were also issues about the weather. The warm Chinook winds delayed some events, like ski jumping, several times – extending the Olympics to 16 days for the first time (it hasn’t always been 16 days of glory). And, for the first time, artificial snow was used.
One of the beauties of Vancouver is that there are cool ski mountains just a stone’s throw from the downtown area of one of this continent’s best cities. A city, which by the way, is very pleasant to visit in February. Snowboarders and skiers up on Grouse Mountain – which will host the Today Show – look directly down on the beautiful city. Cypress Mountain – where the aerial skiing and snowboard events will take place – isn’t far away. But it’s been raining on those venues and the snow is disappearing. And Cypress has been closed until the Games begin.
I have no doubt that everything will be fine for the Olympics. Cities almost inevitably pull off the Games – well, except for Atlanta. And Canada is sure to be a wonderful, fun-loving host. But they might need to work on getting this whole Winter thing down.
The 2010 Winter Olympics ARE missing a crucial ingredient: women ski jumpers (as your wonderful article in Sports Illustrated pointed out.) Maybe the lack of snow is just a bit of Karma from the Snow Goddess who believes in Gender Equity. Keep up the excellent writing Ann, we are grateful.
Similarly, the Summer 2012 games will offer gender equity in all sports, except: Canoe. (Both whitewater slalom and sprint) The gals can get in a kayak, but not a canoe, that is reserved for only men. This is certainly not life or death or a girl being kidnapped into slavery, however, if we even the playing field at the Olympics, maybe some day women from Saudi Arabia and Yemen will be able to participate. By the way, my daughter is the National champion in, you guessed it, Slalom Whitewater Canoe. Bummer. Please write more on this subject. Thanks, Jean Buckley